poor breakfast, terrible service, clueless recepcionist, bad location, cold as the artic (heater stops around midnight). the view is nice, but every house in Valparaiso has a view.... so, why bother?

I really liked this place. The hostel (though B&B may be a better term) is a big traditional Valparaiso house near the top of one of the city's many hills. (There is a great view of the whole sweep of the bay just yards away from the front door.) I stayed in two different rooms, one large and one small; both were simply but imaginatively decorated, most of the decorative effort having gone into the large common area, dining room and kitchen. Throughout the owners have managed a nice counterbalance of traditional structure and contemporary design.

As others have said, the couple who run the hostel are friendly, welcoming, helpful and willing to share ideas and suggestions for what to do in Valparaiso, including an interesting-sounding culinary walking tour and dinner run from the hostel. (I didn't take advantage of it so can't comment on it.) Another friendly and welcome feature of the hostel is a honour system that allows you to help yourself to drinks and snacks if you suddenly find yourself thirsty or peckish.

Valparaiso has tons of character. Hostel Portobello complements the city well and is a good base from which to explore it.

This is a great place. The owner, Catalina, was welcoming, warm and efficient with great advice and help. Our room, one of only a few, was bright and clean, the kitchen available to use anytime, the breakfast was beautiful and ample and the 2 computers have good internet as well as wifi. The whole place is comfortable and welcoming.

And the location is fabulous. Overlooking the great port of Valparaiso, it's an easy place to look at the action, see this marvellous port and, after a great ride down the hill, to travel anywhere by trolebus from Aduana.

For just 40 cents, you can ride the length of the city by catching a traditional electric trolebus from Aduana to Avenue Argentina, just one block away from the bus terminal. Trolebuses turn around at the old customs house, Aduana, where you can catch this most impressive asensor up to the fantastc view of Paseo 21 de Mayo and visit the naval museum.

Just 2 blocks from Aduana along Cochrane is Los Portenos, an honest and genuine restaurant visited by Chileans - and us and tourists lucky enough to find it.

We stayed at Hostal Portobello for the 2 nights in October. The owners could not be more friendly or helpful, and we liked the location a little outside (but easy to get to) the action of the main tourist cerros. Our room on the ground floor was clean and nicely decorated and the bed was really comfortable. Breakfast was also good. Only complaint was that the room and bathroom were pretty chilly, even with the space heater they gave us. Still, we would definitely stay here again.